Tamil Nadu: Police retrieve Rs 2 crore bizman lost in email scam

CHENNAI: A city-based businessman, who fell victim to email spoofing fraud and lost Rs 2 crore to cyber crooks in the last week of September, got the money back, thanks to quick registration of the crime in the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and subsequent follow-up by the Tamil Nadu Police's Cyber Crime Investigation Centre.

Email spoofing entails sending emails with a fake sender address to trick the recipient into believing it to be from a trusted source. This scam involves a business email compromise, where cybercriminals intercept or imitate legitimate business communications to deceive victims into making unauthorised payments, police said.

According to the police, the general manager of a city-based company, Agrigo Trading Pvt Ltd, Chennai received a spoofed email from kunal1113@gmail.com. The email contained a pro-forma invoice with bank details for a payment of $238,500 (equivalent to Rs 2 crore) to be deposited at Regions Bank in the US.

"Believing it to be legitimate, as it was related to a prior email conversation with the original supplier requesting a proforma invoice for payment for a business deal, the manager proceeded with the SWIFT payment via State Bank of India's Leather International Branch in Chennai on September 26," said an official statement.

However, the manager realised he was scammed when he followed up with the supplier the next day and registered a complaint in the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. A case was registered at the State Cyber Crime Wing after which requests were sent to the bank for tracing the money. The SBI confirmed that the funds have been credited to the account of Regions Bank in the US.

Based on the team's efforts, by coordinating with the Union Home Ministry's I4C (Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre) and the Regions Bank, US, the entire amount was returned and credited to the complainant's account, police said.

Cops issue checklist

~ Verify email authenticity, fake email addresses that look identical to legitimate ones

~ If the email contains poor grammar, spelling mistakes, or odd phrasing, it may be spoofed

~ Be cautious if the email asks you to take immediate action, such as verifying your account, resetting a password, or transferring money

~ Report the incident by dialling Cyber Crime Toll-Free Helpline No 1930 or register a complaint at www.cybercrime.gov.in